Bukit Tabur Extreme climb

Bukit Tabur in Taman Melawati in Kuala Lumpur actually consists of five peaks namely Tabur West, East, Far East, Extreme and Extra. I have previously climbed Tabur East earlier this year early in the morning. My maiden climb of Tabur was quite challenging yet really satisfying that it sparked my interest of hiking and climbing numerous other hills and mountains afterwards. Having done that (climbed nearly a dozen hills), I always wanted to climb the remaining peaks of Bukit Tabur.

The opportunity comes when one of my good climbing buddies agreed to lead me and a few others climb Tabur Extreme. We started early in the morning as always, meaning to catch the sunrise. Unfortunately the rest of my hiking members that day came later than planned and they took quite some time eating breakfast in Melawati. When we finally arrived at the starting point it was already broad daylight.

Construction site leading to the starting point. Beware of noisy dogs!We found the starting point using Waze and it is located at a rapidly developing construction site at Jalan L5. We parked at little clearing next to a gated private property called Rimba Suci. Then we walked right accross the construction site and made our way to the starting point but not before passing a herd of a really noisy dogs, fortunately were barking behind a fence. I have no idea why the landowner had so many dogs. Maybe they were guarding the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets or something. From the ‘dog farm’, we passed a little hut where an elderly man lives all by himself (I presume). His shabby hut had no electricity and were no bigger than 4 square meter in size. It’s either he’s really poor or he’s living a really humble (hermit) life at the outskirts of the city.

After that we started our gradual climb to Tabur Extreme. It was decided that we would climb Tabur Far East first before continuing to Tabur Extreme since they were so close to each other. After what was like 15 minutes hike we reached the junction which separates the two peaks. To the right is Tabur Extreme and to the left is Tabur Far East.

It took us just another 15 minutes to reach the summit of Tabur Far East and the little patch of rock that we had to climb was relatively easy compared to Tabur East previously. Like Tabur East, the view from Tabur Far East was just as beautiful and breathtaking. We saw the Klang Gate dam on one side, Tabur East on another but unfortunately the Taman Melawati and KL city was hidden by some three shrubs on one side.

After hanging around for half an hour or so we proceeded to Tabur Extreme next door. The trail this other peak is much further away and slightly more challenging. The trail marker was almost none-existent and we actually missed the regular climbing point to the summit of Tabur Extreme and climbed the alternative route to the peak some 50 meters away. Still we reached the summit safe and sound and despite it’s name, Tabur Extreme was not as extreme as the name suggests. In fact I think just about anybody can make it to Tabur Extreme if they know the way there.

The return trip took slightly over an hour and although it rained for several minutes, we made it to the car park in one piece. After having lunch together at one of the stalls in Melawati we parted ways and ended our double hike to Tabur Far East and Extreme.

This short but educational hike taught me a few important things. I made two cardinal mistakes of hiking — not having/bringing enough food and not taking along spare clothes. In the beginning, somebody suggested that we cook some instant noodles at the peak hence why I didn’t bring anything to eat save for a pack of Maggi noodles. However when the person who was supposed to bring the stove cancelled so we were left stove-less. Not wanting to start hiking so soon after eating, I skipped breakfast and did not have anything that morning except for the two sausage buns I had an hour earlier. Naturally, I was quite hungry for most of the hike. And just my luck, the rest of my hiking buddies that day also didn’t bring any extra food save for a few Gardenia’s Delicia soft rolls and some peanuts.

The second mistake is to wear a long-sleeve t-shirt for hiking. I read in the blogs of people who’d been to Tabur Extreme, you may get scracthes on your hand and arms if you wear regular short sleeve t-shirt. They couldn’t be more wrong. I found out the hike to Tabur Extreme was no different than any other hikes that I’ve been and what you wear made little difference in term of protection. In fact, wearing long-sleeve t-shirts made me more hot and sweaty and pretty uncomfortable for much of the hike. And since I didn’t bring any spare shirt, I was stuck with it till the end.

Oh did I mentioned I was stung by a bee or wasp of some kind while on the way back? Lucky for me I didn't develop some kind of lethal allergic reaction to the sting or else it wouldn't be writing this right now. That's why if you happens to be seriously allergic to venom of any kind, get your first aid and medications ready. There's no telling what might happen there in the jungle.

Unlike my first hike up Tabur East, this time around I didn’t find Tabur Far East or even Extreme to be hard at all. Maybe perhaps I’ve had far more experience compared to last time thus it feels much easier this time around. The most important thing is to have an experienced guide, preferably somebody who’d been there before or at least someone really experienced to lead the way. It is also recommended that you do some research, read blogs or watch videos of people climbing any one of the peaks on YouTube to get some idea of what your journey would be like. Next prepare yourself with ample supplies such as food, water, spare clothes and rain coat. Finally while it is fun and exciting to climb, always be careful and vigilant while you’re at it especially in Bukit Tabur where almost a dozen lives had lost over the years. To get to the starting point which is located at the end of Jalan L5 in Taman Melawati refer to this Google Map.

Dear Sir,I'm interested to try Far East & extreme with a group of friends. Would like to help some local guides who are experience enough for our safety. A token will be given for the service. Wonder would you be interested to lead?